Skip to main content

US announces $12 million assistance for Hurricane Matthew response

US President Barack Obama

US President Barack Obama

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced more than $12 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help communities affected by Hurricane Matthew. With this funding, the United States is providing nearly $14 million for immediate Hurricane Matthew relief efforts in Haiti, Jamaica, and The Bahamas.

The funding, according to USAID will provide critical food assistance and relief supplies to hard-hit areas in Haiti’s southwestern peninsula, as well as transportation and logistics support to help USAID’s United Nations and non-governmental organizations partners reach communities in the Grand’ Anse and Sud regions.

There are currently 1.4 million Haitians in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN, which issued a flash funding appeal to the international community on October 10.

Nearly $7 million of this additional funding will support the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) efforts to provide urgently needed food assistance to 750,000 people for three months. It is also being used to provide and transport 6,600 boxes of ready-to- use supplementary foods to prevent and treat malnutrition. More than $2 million of this assistance will help ramp up WFP’s logistics and telecommunications capacity to enhance efficiency and coordination of land, sea, and air cargo operations in Haiti.

The remaining nearly $3 million has gone toward the provision of more than 515 metric tons of relief supplies-including blankets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, chain saws, water containers, generators, and heavy-duty plastic sheeting-that USAID has been airlifting to Haiti and The Bahamas. USAID is also providing a three month’s supply of chlorine to be used in piped water systems throughout Haiti, with an immediate focus on high-risk areas, as well as water purification tablets that will help provide safe drinking water for 475,000 people.

USAID deployed an elite Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Haiti, Jamaica, and The Bahamas on October 3 in advance of Hurricane Matthew’s arrival to lead the U.S. government’s response efforts to the strongest storm to hit the central Caribbean in almost a decade. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is providing airlift and logistical capacities to support USAID’s efforts to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to areas cut off by the storm. DoD has also authorized up to $11 million in Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid funds to be spent in support of USAID’s disaster relief efforts.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...
Post a Comment
Read more